Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is making a big deal out of its premieres this year, but at the company’s “All New” program during its City Center residency, Matthew Rushing’s Odetta was the standout work.

Overall, while an interesting night for them and those who know them, it wasn’t a night that would garner them lots of new fans all hailing them as magnificent. For that you still need to catch them, if you can, doing their fireworks in the likes of Don Quixote…

Since becoming artistic director at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2011, Robert Battle has been steadily mixing up the company’s repertory, adding works by choreographers beyond its usual range: Paul Taylor, Ohad Naharin, and Wayne McGregor, to name just three.